Search for person in Lake Ontario comes up empty

A search in Lake Ontario near Wilson on Thursday following the report of a possible person in the water yielded no results, the Coast Guard said Friday.

Emergency responders initially received a report of a person seen paddling on a raft near the shore. Later, no one was on the raft still floating in the water, the Coast Guard said.

The person who made the initial report later learned the object floating in the water was not a raft, but a railroad tie. The witness maintained he saw a person rowing on the railroad tie, the Coast Guard said.

The search, being conducted by the Coast Guard and firefighters from Olcott and Wilson, was still active as of about 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

Aaron Besecker– Aaron Besecker is a member of The Buffalo News' breaking news and criminal justice team. He has been a News staff reporter since 2007.